In Memory of the Living
by TheObscureFluffs
Summary: If Knuckles had known he'd be at Sonic's memorial service that day, he probably would've confessed a lot sooner. But now it was too late... wasn't it? (slightly AU Sonic Boom universe)


Team Sonic honestly never took Eggman seriously. Although the evil doctor had some moments where he was at least a _threat_ , the guy was a joke at all other times, with the team usually going home without so much as a scratch.

Maybe they should've been more careful about their battles with him though. Especially on _that_ day.

It was the usual. Eggman had one of his big robots fighting them, as usual. Tails was figuring out the robots' weaknesses, as usual. Sonic, Knuckles, and Sticks were trying to fight the robot while they waited for Tails' evaluation, again, as usual.

Upon hearing that the robot was weak from the inside, Knuckles pulled the robot's head off and Sonic jumped inside. The others promptly got to a safe distance, as Sonic possibly flying out of the robot and smashing into someone was a concern.

Then, the unexpected happened; or, at least, unexpected for the team. The robot exploded in a fiery vengeance, causing debris and metallic parts to fly everywhere, breaking trees and falling to the ground in a heap.

When they went to explore the wreckage, they found nothing; not even a body.

At first, the group wondered if maybe Sonic had flee'd the wreckage at the last minute or went flying off, but days passed.

Then weeks passed.

Sonic didn't return. Search parties were sent, but no one could find him.

Eventually, he was declared dead, and a memorial service was held, with all of Sonic's friends agreeing to make a small speech in honor of him. Sticks managed to keep herself together through hers, while Tails started to sob as soon as he was done. Amy couldn't even finish hers, arguably being the most emotional of the group and unable to take it.

Then, it was Knuckles' turn.

Knuckles was probably the most devastated out of all of them. He'd been in denial the entire time, trying his hardest to believe that Sonic had survived somehow. Now, he was faced with the crushing reality of the situation.

As he gave his speech, he was trying his best to remain strong. But pretty soon, any emotional strength he had left had vanished.

"H-he was my best f-friend… m-maybe even more than th-that…"

He fell to his knees and slammed a fist onto the ground.

"It's not fair!" he cried out. "I-I never even got to tell him th-that I…" He was sobbing hysterically at this point. "…th-that I l-l-loved him!"

He couldn't bring himself to say anything more as he was reduced to a crying mess, sprawled out on the ground.

Amy, Tails, and Sticks rushed to his side, attempting to comfort Knuckles as best as they could, though knowing that no one would be able to really help him now.

But then, suddenly, a painfully-familiar voice rang out from being the crowd of people.

"…Do you mean that?"

The crowd turned, seeing Sonic standing there, looking lost and confused, as if he'd just rushed into the scene.

"S-Sonic?" Knuckles wiped at the tears on his face, wondering if he was going insane and imagining Sonic there.

The blue hedgehog nodded, then looked around with a raised brow.

"What's goin' on…? Did I miss something?" he asked, seeing how shocked everyone was at his presence.

Suddenly, Knuckles rushed towards Sonic, throwing his arms around him and hugging him tightly.

"W-we all th-thought you were d-dead!" He began to sob again, but this time in joy and relief.

" _D-dead?_ " Sonic uttered, stunned at Knuckles words.

Sticks, Amy, and Tails were quick to join on the hug, undeniably happy to see Sonic again.

The crowd slowly dissipated, now knowing that Sonic was very much alive. As they were gone completely, the blue hedgehog spoke up.

"I-I ended up flyin' off into the jungle after the explosion. I was a total mess, so I dunked my head in the river, but…" He blushed, clearly embarrassed. "I ended up fallin' in. Before I knew it, I'd blacked out. Even when I finally came to, I had no clue where I was."

He sighed, looking ashamed that he'd made everyone worry so much. "Sorry. Was I really gone that long?"

Everyone nodded.

"I-I missed you so much," Knuckles said, sniffling.

Sonic flushed somewhat, flattered that Knuckles would get so emotional over the matter. "I missed you too, Knux." He turned to the rest of the group. "I missed all of you."

The five got to talking about what Sonic had missed in his absence, then began to head for their respective homes. Knuckles, however, had stuck with Sonic as the blue hedgehog made his way back to his shack, not once releasing him from physical contact, whether it was keeping a hand on his shoulder or outright holding his hand. If Sonic noticed, he didn't make mention of it.

"Whoa… it's been too long," Sonic said as he entered his shack. "Surprised this place hasn't started collectin' dust," he joked.

Now that it was just the two of them, Knuckles felt it was a good time to talk to him.

"S-so, um…I guess you heard what I said back there?" He flushed in embarrassment.

Sonic's ear twitched as he recalled the memory. "…Yeah, I did."

He placed his hands on his hips, gazing up at Knuckles curiously. "You never answered my question; did you actually mean that?" he asked.

Knuckles nodded. "Y-yeah… I did. Does…does that make things too weird for you?"

Sonic paused, taking an unusually long time to respond.

"…When did you start feelin' this way?"

"O-oh, um…" Knuckles paused to think. "Gosh, I don't even remember. It must've been waaaaaay back."

Sonic smiled softly, rubbing an arm. "And how much would you say you love me?" he asked.

Knuckles blushed. "M-more than anything in the world."

Sonic felt his heart skip a beat at that, his muzzle turning a deep shade of red. _Well, there's my answer…_

He cleared his throat, then averted his gaze, as if the pattern on the wall was suddenly very interesting. "And you wanna know if that'd make things weird? I mean…"

He smirked. "I've never really called someone my 'boyfriend' before, so that's gonna take some gettin' used to, but I don't know if I'd say that it'd make things 'weird' exactly."

"Y-you mean…?" Knuckles' eyes were wide in surprise.

"Did I stutter?" Sonic asked, his smirk widening. "Or do I need to repeat myself? Y'know, the whole reason I dunked my head in that river in the first place was 'cause I didn't wanna come back to you looking like a mess."

"R-really?" Knuckles blushed deeply. He could barely believe what he was hearing. Was Sonic saying that he… loved him back?

Sonic nodded. "Yeah… and when I got lost, _man_ , I got so worried. I wanted to see the others too, of course, but all that time away from you really made me think." He stared back at Knuckles, his grin softening into a small smile. "And I just kinda… figured myself out from there."

"W-what are you saying?" Knuckles asked. He wanted to be absolutely sure that he wasn't misunderstanding Sonic.

Sonic sighed, but laughed right afterwards, his cheeks turning red. "You're gonna make me say it, aren't you?"

He took a breath, prepping himself for the moment, then placed a hand on his chest. "I love you too, Knuckles."

Knuckles was silent for a moment, trying to process what he'd just heard. Then he smiled wide. He threw his arms around Sonic and began kissing him all over his face.

"Ah!" Sonic's face reddened. "K-Knuckles, hey!" He blushed further, squirming slightly in the echidna's grasp.

After a few seconds though, he got used to it, grinning wide and wanting to make Knuckles flustered too.

He tilted his head up to dive in for a cheek kiss, but Knuckles had already switched positions for another kiss.

Their lips made contact by both of them shifting at the same time.

…Oops?

Knuckles' face flushed. He didn't object in the slightest though. He kissed Sonic's lips, giggling lightly.

Sonic let out a small sound at the kiss, surprised at Knuckles' willingness. He hesitated, then kissed back; if Knuckles approved, he did too.

Knuckles sighed in contentment as he continued the kiss. Just earlier today he'd been feeling completely miserable, but now he was having the best day of his entire life.

Sonic smiled, the slowly pulled away from the kiss. "Eheh, sorry again about disappearing…" He placed a hand on Knuckles' cheek. "The last thing I wanted to do was make you worried."

"It's okay," Knuckles replied with a smile. "I'm just so happy you're alive!" he added, hugging Sonic again.

"C'mon, gimme some credit!" Sonic said with a laugh. "I wouldn't die that easy!"

"Still though…" Knuckles' voice went quiet. "I-I thought I'd lost you. I tried so hard to believe you were still alive, but that got really hard after a while…"

Sonic frowned, then hugged Knuckles gently. "Heh… I wouldn't leave you like that."

Knuckles nuzzled him. He didn't really know what else there was to say. Except for one thing:

"I love you, Sonic."

Sonic blushed, but smiled at him. "I love you too."


End file.
